'The Hobbit' beats 'Les Miserables' to top of box office again at $33 million

'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' continues to rule them all at the box office, staying on top for a third-straight week and capping a record-setting $10.8 billion year in moviegoing.

The Warner Bros. fantasy epic from director Peter Jackson, based on the beloved J.R.R. Tolkien novel, made nearly $33 million this weekend, according to Sunday studio estimates, despite serious competition from some much-anticipated newcomers. It's now made $222.7 million domestically alone.

Two big holiday movies -- and potential Academy Awards contenders -- also had strong openings. Quentin Tarantino's spaghetti Western-blaxploitation mash-up 'Django Unchained' came in second place for the weekend with $30.7 million.

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Breaking records: Martin Freeman in character as Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit

The Weinstein Co. revenge comedy,
starring Jamie Foxx as a slave in the Civil War South and Christoph
Waltz as the bounty hunter who frees him and then makes him his partner,
has earned $64 million since its Christmas Day opening.

And in third place with $28 million
was the sweeping, all-singing 'Les Miserables,' based on the
international musical sensation and the Victor Hugo novel of strife and
uprising in 19th century France.

The Universal Pictures film, with a
cast of A-list actors singing live on camera led by Hugh Jackman, Anne
Hathaway and Russell Crowe has made $67.5 million domestically and
$116.2 worldwide since debuting on Christmas.

Additionally, the smash-hit James
Bond adventure 'Skyfall' has now made $1 billion internationally to
become the most successful film yet in the 50-year franchise, Sony
Pictures announced Sunday.

The film stars Daniel Craig for the third time as the iconic British superspy.

'This is a great final weekend of the
year,' said Paul Dergarabedian, an analyst for box-office tracker
Hollywood.com. 'How perfect to end this year on such a strong note with
the top five films performing incredibly well.'

'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey' took a 45 percent dip yet earned yet another $17.5 million, bringing its total to $263.8 million

The week's other new wide release,
the Billy Crystal-Bette Midler comedy 'Parental Guidance' from 20th
Century Fox, made $14.8 million over the weekend for fourth place and
$29.6 million total since opening on Christmas.

Dergarabedian described the holding
power of 'The Hobbit' in its third week as 'just amazing.' Jackson shot
the film, the first of three prequels to his massively successful'"Lord
of the Rings' series, in 48 frames per second -- double the normal frame
rate -- for a crisper, more detailed image.

It's also available in the usual 24 frames per second and both 2-D and 3-D projections.

'I think people are catching up with
the movie. Maybe they're seeing it in multiple formats,' he said. 'I
think it's just a big epic that feels like a great way to end the
moviegoing year. There's momentum there with this movie.'

Still on top! The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, featuring Ian McKellen as Gandalf, is clinging on to the top spot with a $33million haul this week

'Django Unchained' is just as much of an epic in its own stylishly violent way that's quintessentially Tarantino.

Erik Lomis, The Weinstein Co.'s president of theatrical distribution, said the opening exceeded the studio's expectations.

'We're thrilled with it, clearly. We
knew it was extremely competitive at Christmas, particularly when you
look at the start 'Les Miz' got. We were sort of resigned to being
behind them. The fact that we were able to overtake them over the
weekend was just great,' Lomis said.

BOX OFFICE RESULTS*

1. 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,' $32.9 million

2. 'Django Unchained,' $30.7 million

3. 'Les Miserables,' $28 million

4. 'Parental Guidance,' $14.8 million

5. 'Jack Reacher,' $14 million

6. 'This Is 40,' $13.2 million

7. 'Lincoln,' $7.5 million

8. 'The Guilt Trip,' $6.7 million

9. 'Monsters, Inc. 3-D,' $6.4 million

10. 'Rise of the Guardians,' $4.9 million.

*Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

'Taking nothing away from their number, it's a tribute to the playability of 'Django.''

'Les Miserables' went into its
opening weekend with nearly $40 million in North American grosses,
including $18.2 on Christmas Day.

That's the second-best opening ever on the holiday following 'Sherlock Holmes,' which made $24.9 million on Christmas 2009.

Tom Hooper, in a follow-up to his
Oscar-winner 'The King's Speech,' directs an enormous, ambitious take on
the beloved musical which has earned a CinemaScore of 'A' from
audiences and 'A-plus' from women.

Nikki Rocco, Universal's head of distribution, said the debut for 'Les Miserables' also beat the studio's expectations.

'That $18.2 million Christmas Day
opening -- people were shocked ... This is a musical!' she said. 'Once
people see it, they talk about how fabulous it is.'

It all adds up to a record-setting year at the movies, beating the previous annual record of $10.6 billion set in 2009.

Dergarabedian pointed out that the
hits came scattered throughout the year, not just during the summer
blockbuster season or prestige-picture time at the end.

'Contraband,' ''Safe House' and 'The Vow' all performed well early on, but then when the big movies came, they were huge.

'The Avengers' had the biggest opening ever with $207.4 million in May.

And Paul Thomas Anderson's
challenging drama 'The Master' shattered records in September when it
opened on five screens in New York and Los Angeles with $736,311, for a
staggering per-screen average of $147,262.

'We were able to get this record without scratching and clawing to a record,' he said.